The media reported a story few hours ago. The story read as “No objection to Karnataka banning use of endosulfan: Pawar”. The headline clearly concludes that Mr. Sharad Pawar approves the ban of Endosulfan. However, the body mentions some key points which completely contradict the headline: • Sharad Pawar attributed the disastrous consequences of the pesticide to aerial spraying of endosulfan which was against the guidelines. • During the question hour, Pawar stated that farmers in a number of states have said they have no problem in using endosulfan as it was giving good results. • Pawar said the government had set up four expert committees since 1991 and each one of them had recommended continued use of endosulfan. • To a question on ban in several countries on use of endosulfan, Pawar said the pesticide was being used in at least 40 countries, including Brazil, Australia and China. This is sheer ignorance on the part of the media who is highly responsible in making opinion in the masses.
